China’s Glass Bridge Closes Due To High Demand

Those travelling to China in hopes to walk across its record-breaking glass bridge may be in for some disappointment. The globe’s longest and highest glass-bottom structure has been closed, a mere thirteen days after it was opened to visitors this past summer. Hanging above the country’s Zhangiiaiie Grand Canyon, a representative for the bridge relayed that the reason behind its closure was the overwhelming volume of visitors. As it seems that after it opened on August 20th, the structure had become a key draw of the attraction. The bridge had also increased interest to other spots in the region.

The rep noted that the capacity of the bridge was 8,000 people per day, but the demand in total equaled ten times that number.

The bad news is that the bridge is closed, however the representative for the structure was able to confirm that there had been no accidents on it and no problems around cracks or issues around the bridge being broken.

While the bridge is six meters wide, it stretches out 430 meters above the 300-meter-deep valley, that lies between two incredibly scenic cliffs within the inspiring Zhangiiaiie Park. In fact, the view has been said to be the inspiration behind the backdrop for the ever-popular flick, Avatar.

CNN advised that the announcement was made by the bridge’s management on September 1st, via their Weibo account; apologizing for any inconvenience to visitors. While we now know the bridge is closed, the statement did not indicate if and when the bridge would reopen. It did state that there was an urgency to update and improve the area, and that the government made a decision to suspend the bridge’s operations on the following Friday.

While the park had wanted to close the bridge on September 5th, to accommodate any travelers who had booked this attraction on their itinerary, the decision was ultimately made to close it, effective September 2nd.

Unfortunately, many potential visitors are not happy with the decision, with comments made on Weibo in response to the official closure announcement.

Plans are to not only improve the structure during this closure, but also the ticket-booking system in place, customer service, parking lots, as well as other areas that require work.

The Israeli architectural firm Haim Dotan, the company who designed the structure, has yet to comment on the bridge’s closing.